LEGITIMACY OF STRIKE – QUI, QUID, QUANDO ET QUOMODO?

Abstract

An accelerated movement of capital and services in the context of globalisation has been noted outside of the national borders of EU member states. Therefore, both transnational transactions and dispatched workers issues have become daily commonplace. Given that employers wish to take advantage of what the individual internal market has to offer and thus decrease the price of work, these workers find themselves in an unenviable position. In order to protect their economic and social welfare interests, it is necessary to establish a productive transnational social welfare dialogue. Due to various levels of economic development and social welfare protection, collective bargaining of social partners and initiating strike as the most effective industrial relations on the part of the world of work, might fail. However, collective actions are still linked to the national system of industrial relations marked by their specific characteristics. Nevertheless, when it comes to the regulation of industrial actions, it should be emphasised that a whole series of legal loopholes and/or poor solutions exist within these systems, in particular related to the right to strike. The situation is even more complicated by the existence of international and regional legal sources governing this subject and binding the respective countries, particularly when national legislation provisions are not harmonised. Thus, it is easy to conclude that the current situation makes it more difficult, for not only strike organisation and implementation, but also for differentiating a legal from an illegal strike at transnational and national level. The paper applies the comparative method for bringing out numerous criticisms de lege lata while offering solutions de lege ferenda.